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Gestalt therapy is a form of psychotherapy which takes a humanistic and existential approach to counseling. Formulated by the Freudian psychoanalyst Frederick S. Perls and his wife Laura Perls in the early 1940s. Gestalt therapy proposes a theory of holism with a theoretical orientation to counseling which believes human beings have a natural capacity for growth and change and that they are responsible for their own existence and life choices. The primary goal of Gestalt therapy is to increase the individual's self-awareness so that they may integrate the self into a gestalt (or, whole).

Gestalt therapy's primary focus is on bringing the client to the here-and-now of the present.

Background

Gestalt therapy was founded by Frederick S. Perls and his wife Laura Perls in the early 1940s. Frederick, or Fritz as he was more commonly addressed, was a Freudian psychoanalyst who first came into contact with Gestalt psychology in 1926 while working with Kurt Goldstein. With the publication of Fritz's 1947 book Ego, Hunger and Aggression, Perls broke away from classical psychoanalysis to pursue the promises of Gestalt therapy.

Theory of personality

Further information: Personality theory

The Gestalt theory of personality is grounded largely in existential philosophy with an emphasis on living life in the present moment, increasing self-awareness, and the integration of all aspects of the self into a gestalt (or, whole). Gestalt therapy is grounded in the idea that the whole of a person is greater than the sum of his or her parts. Rather than viewing people in terms of psychological compartments, Gestalt therapy looks at the individual as a whole. Concepts such as homeostasis, holism, the capacity for aggression, and Gestalt's own field theory form the foundation upon which the personality is then viewed.

Homeostasis

Further information: Homeostasis in Gestalt therapy

From the standpoint of Gestalt theory, all human behavior is regulated by the process of homeostasis (or, balance). Gestalt theory proposes that human beings are always naturally striving for homeostasis in order to maintain health. This natural tendency toward balance in the human being largely controls their perceptions and, more importantly, their perception of needs. To put this in more simple terms, when an individual is not in a state of equilibrium they may become hungry, thirsty or desire sexual intercourse. When the individual meets that need they achieve a momentary state of equilibrium, only to find a new need emerging which needs addressing. The needs of the individual might be physical, emotional, social, intellectual or spiritual. Gestalt therapy aims to help individuals reach homeostasis by focusing on the figure-ground, promoting self-regulation techniques, and the process of formation and destruction.

Holism

Further information: Holism in Gestalt therapy

In Gestalt theory, holism refers to the relationship between the individual's spiritual and psychological self and the individual's physical self. Gestalt theory proposes that the human body and human mind are inseparable and are interdependent on their environment.

Aggression

Further information: Aggression in Gestalt therapy

Gestalt theory proposes that in order for human beings to interact with their environment in "growthful and creative ways" they must develop the capacity for aggression. According to Gestalt, aggression means that an individual disassembles elements of their environment and comes to assimilate them, allowing for their own growth. A basic example of this is demonstrated in the consumption and digestion of food.

Nature of maladjustment

Gestalt theorizes that when an individual falls out of homeostasis they enter a state of maladjustment. According to Gestalt theory, there are several ways a person can block themselves from the their own experience and develop a neurosis. These boundaries include introjection, projection, retroflection, deflection and confluence. Both introjection and retroflection are psychoanalytic concepts borrowed by Perls.

Introjection

Introjection is an individual's refusal to engage their environment with aggression—it is the "failure to meet and act upon the new thing." Quite literally, introjection refers to "psychologically swallowing whole concepts." Gestalt theorizes that the individual who engages in aggression properly disassembles and assimilates aspects of his or her environment, which leads to the growth of their personality. When the individual engages in introjection, however, the person's personality cannot develop normally because they have not digested or assimilated that which was consumed. Such individuals may exhibit an inability to express their beliefs and may feel a disconnect between themselves and others. The introjector may also feel superficial or fake and, in terms of therapy, such persons are often dependent on the counselor. While they may go through the motions of complying with the counselors' instructions, they ultimately fail to succeed because they've never fully assimilated the instructions at hand. The introjector has no filtration system in place, therefore allowing both nutrients and toxins to enter their being. In the absence of this vital discrimination, the person develops an unclear self-identity and in many respects allows his or her environment to control and define their identity for them.

Projection

Projection is an individual's tendency to project their perceptions and assumptions on to someone or something in their environment in order to deflect personal responsibility away from themselves. A certain amount of projection is healthy and necessary in our daily lives, though when one frequently makes projections they cannot understand the world they live in. This contrast between one's projections about reality and reality itself block out awareness and inhibit the person's ability to reach their full potential. The projector does not own their own assumptions, feelings and attitudes about themselves or their world; they often fixes blame for their problems on outside forces and, in more extreme cases the person may even become paranoid.

Retroflection

Retroflection is the process wherein that which naturally is to be directed at someone or something in the environment is directed inward, resulting in accumulated stress and a "blocked" personality. For instance, a person is angry with another but never expresses this anger outwardly; rather, he or she directs the anger at themselves. This process, incidentally, is drawn from Sigmund Freud's idea of reversal.

Deflection

Deflection is demonstrated by the avoidance of one's environment and emotions. It is a self-regulatory mechanism which in normal circumstances manages the level of intensity of ones' contacts. When deflection becomes pathological and the person possesses a lack of awareness, however, they can come to feel detached, misunderstood, or unappreciated. Deflective individuals tend speak of things in the abstract, delivering their viewpoints from a third-person perspective. In therapy clients that are deflective are a challenge to make inroads with because they are likely seeking to avoid the therapeutic experience itself.

Confluence

Confluence is "the absence of a boundary between self and the environment." Pathologically confluent individuals have trouble identifying boundaries between themselves and other people and ultimately have trouble identifying their owns needs. Their perspective becomes skewed and no figure can be clearly rendered. Confluent individuals also tend to have a poor definition of themselves and tend to have little enthusiasm for life. According to Gestalt theory, a combination of both excitment and awareness are necessary for healthy contact to occur between oneself and one's environment. An example of confluence might be epitomized best by a person who pathologically "goes with the flow." Moreover, the person typically has no real sense of who they are or are not.

Unfinished business

In Gestalt, unfinished business deals with things the individual has neglected. They have not met their owns needs, have not followed through on certain situations, or have feelings bottled up inside which they've not expressed. When a person is said to have unfinished business, they store it away in the subconscious and keep out of view from their conscious awareness. Needs occurring in the here-and-now of things may be related unfinished business in our past seeking completion. This unfinished business, if left unattended, will play itself out in one's interactions with their environment in situation after situation. Someone who has buried a painful relationship of the past may unknowingly seek to make that past situation right in their future relationships. One of the primary focuses of Gestalt therapy is to allow clients to become aware of this unfinished business so that they can finally bring some closure to it. Related to unfinished business in Gestalt is the figure-ground, the principle that contends the client must first address the most pressing needs he or she faces first and, once resolved, less pressing and less evident needs can emerge and be addressed. The best physical example of the figure-ground in Gestalt therapy is the use of Magic Eye prints, wherein a picture seems to be a meaningless bunch of squiggles (ground) until the individual experiences a perceptual shift in the brain that allows the image to "pop out" (figure) at them and enter into their conscious awareness. It should be pointed out that, in keeping with the overall holistic approach of Gestalt therapy, attention is not paid exclusively to the "emerging figure." Attention must also be given to the relationship between the ground and figure.

Key concepts

The following is a list of key concepts integral to the understanding of Gestalt therapy.

Awareness

Awareness underpins all of Gestalt therapy, indicated by the client's ability to fully experience the present moment. The therapist seeks to bring awareness to the client by having them become attuned to their present behavior and to possibly explore alternative ones. Techniques used vary widely, though the therapist is often free to use humor, sarcasm, dramatics and/or confrontation to help foster awareness in the client. The therapist may also engage in body work. That is, they may have the client follow their own breathing, or take note of their own posture, vocal intonations, and gestures. The client is directed to take complete ownership for themselves in the present tense.

According to Gestaltist Gary Yontef:

Awareness is a form of experiencing. It is the process of being in a vigilant contact with the most important event in the individual/environment field, with full sensorimotor, emotional, cognitive, and energetic support.

Here-and-Now

Gestalt therapy is here-and-now oriented, with interventions geared toward behaviors occurring in the present tense. Gestalt believes that, while there may be unfinished business awaiting completion, the individual's behaviors are more forcefully determined by their "psychological present" than the past or future. Therefore, therapists may focus on attuning the client with his or her own body to help get them directly in touch with themselves. Belaboring past transgressions is believed to be a tactic used to avoid being in touch with your present circumstances and ultimately the therapy itself. One of the primary goals of the Gestalt therapist is to constantly steer the client back toward the "here-and-now" rather than allowing them to hide in the "there-and-then."

Response-ability

Gestalt theory supports in the idea of existential choice, which is to say that every human being must be held responsible for the choices that he or she makes. In Gestalt therapy awareness is the gateway toward taking responsibility, because the more in touch the person is with themselves and their environment the more freedom they will have to experience and respond. Perls referred to this as "response-ability." The responsible person in Gestalt therefore cannot engage in projection, which places blame on outside circumstances for one's internal struggles.

Polarities

Gestalt regards polarities as poles of a reconcilable conflict in the personality. In a basic sense, polarities are two opposites working together in a complimentary way. However, in terms of Gestalt therapy, polarities are rarely perceived as working together by the mind. The individual tends to side with one pole or the other, dismissing the other pole as being threatening or otherwise undesirable. Clients are encouraged to acknowledge hidden aspects of these opposites in problematic situations in order to promote conflict resolution. In therapy, polarities are seen as tools to be used in order to promote growth and are not something to be avoided or transcended. There is the idea that one pole cannot exist without the other, so the individual must fully experience each precisely as they are. Therapists will often use the terms top dog and under dog when referring to polarities in the personality. The top dog takes an authoritarian posture, knowing what is right and must be done in every instance. The under dog assumes a helpless role, making excuses for why it cannot live up to the top dogs demands and instead following its own desires.

Environmental contact

In Gestalt therapy environmental contact is the "psychological process of engaging with our environment and with ourselves." During the therapeutic encounter, it is the contact between therapist and client rather than the analysis of thought, feelings and emotion that forms the foundation of treatment. The two basic principles underpinning a healthy contact between the individual and his or her environment are awareness and excitement. Awareness in that the client becomes fully aware and engaged with the experience of the present. Excitement in that the client has an "energetically charged" experience, wherein they have a true sense of interest and curiosity about the present moment. Change is made possible by contact with the environment due to the individual's assimilation or rejection of that which was contacted. However, contacts are not always assimilated positively and this can lead to what Perl called the five layers of neurotic contact.

• Phony layer

• Phobic layer

• Impasse layer

• Implosive layer

• Explosive layer

Therapeutic process

References

• Blom, Rinda; Schoeman, Hannie (2006), The Handbook of Gestalt Play Therapy (1st paperback ed.), London ; Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers, ISBN 1843104598

• Clarkson, Petruska (2004), Gestalt Counseling in Action (3rd ed.), London ; Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, ISBN 1412900859

• Fagan, Thomas; Warden, Paul (1996), Historical Encyclopedia of School Psychology, Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 0313290156

• Fall, Kevin A.; Holden, Janice Miner; Marquis, Andre (2004), Theoretical Models of Counseling and Psychotherapy, New York: Brunner-Routledge, ISBN 1583910689

• Gregoire, Jocelyn; Jungers, Christin (2007), The Counselor's Companion (4th ed.), Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, ISBN 0805856846

• Hamilton, Jeffrey D. (1997), Gestalt in Pastoral Care and Counseling, New York: Haworth Press, ISBN 0789001489

• James, Richard K.; Gilliland, Burl E. (2003), Theories and Strategies In Counseling and Psychotherapy (5th ed.), Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon, ISBN 020534397X

• Knights, Ward A. (2002), Pastoral Counseling, New York: Haworth Press, ISBN 0789015323

• Kottman, Terry (2001), Play Therapy: Basics and Beyond, Alexandria, VA: American Counseling Association, ISBN 1556201869

• Roberts, Albert R.; Greene, Gilbert J. (2002), Social Workers' Desk Reference, Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN 019514211X

• Wheeler, Gordon (1996), Gestalt Reconsidered, Hillsdale: Analytic Erlbaum, ISBN 0881632481

• Woldt, Ansel L.; Toman, Sarah M. (2005), Gestalt Therapy: History, Theory, and Practice, SAGE Publications, ISBN 0761927913

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